Canada Post management and the union confirm that neither side has met in days.

“We have never left the bargaining table. All we need is a willing partner for this to be settled,” said Mike Palecek, the national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, in a statement to Global News.

If the two sides could not agree on a mediator to solve the dispute, the federal government would appoint one who could impose binding arbitration.

While negotiations are stalled, the war of words continues over how much mail is stuck in the backlog caused by the rotating strikes.

According to Canada Post, close to 700 trailers of mail are waiting to be delivered — almost three times the level it was last year — and there are just three weeks until Christmas, says Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton.

The union disputes that claim, saying there is no backlog and pointing to testimony before a special sitting of the Senate in which Canada Post interim CEO Jessica McDonald stated that one million parcels constitutes a backlog.

Picket lines have been set up outside Canada Post facilities in different parts of the country by non-CUPW demonstrators, blocking entrances at processing plants in Vancouver, Halifax, Hamilton, Ottawa and Toronto and slowing down delivery.

Canada Post says it has received injunctions in Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia, but the delays continue.